Rivertown Crossings Mall
RiverTown Crossings is a two-story enclosed super-regional shopping mall in Grandville, Michigan. It has six anchors: Sears, Macy's, Kohl's, JCPenney, Dick's Sporting Goods and Celebration Cinema. History Design and development The idea for a commercial development in Grandville began in 1981 when developer General Growth Properties purchased 99 acres of land on Rivertown Parkway. In 1990, Homart Development Company, a subsidiary of Sears, had begun eyeing a development of a new mall near the intersection of 44th Street and Ivanrest and met with the city for approval. In November 1990, Homart Development Co. originally proposed a 1 million square foot, 120-store indoor mall on 94 acres of land near the intersection, seeking for the land to be rezoned from high-tech industrial to commercial. However, the City of Grandville turned down the plans in January 1991, stating that a 99-acre lot on Rivertown Parkway, which was adjacent to the property sought by Homart, was already zoned for commercial usage and was owned by General Growth. Homart's plan for a mall was then put on hold after its director, Roy Vice, left the company and Homart Development Company was put up for sale in 1994, later being sold to General Growth in 1995. In October 1994 after waiting for the economy to strengthen, General Growth vice president John Bergstrom proposed a 150-store mall with 4 anchor stores, stating that the project could be completed by Spring 1997. This plan was also declined on October 12, 1994, with Grandville Mayor James Buck stating that more commercial was not needed in the city. General Growth then made a deal to acquire more land adjacent to the site in August 1996, with a new proposed mall site totaling 138 acres. General Growth and the City of Grandville then made a deal in October 1996 after General Growth promised in August that the mall would only remain in Grandville and not span into Wyoming, with Grandville Mayor James Buck stating, "The construction of this mall has been anticipated for years. ... Our goal will be to provide the finest shopping mall in Michigan". A revised plan for the mall was later developed in May 1997 which reduced the size of the mall to just over 130 stores. Construction for the mall broke ground on December 6, 1997 with a total construction cost of about $160 million. Opening RiverTown Crossings opened on November 3, 1999, just prior to the holiday season with five original anchor stores: Sears, Hudson's, Kohl's, Younkers and JCPenney.JCPenneyBarnes & Noble also featured as a junior anchor. In 2000, Galyan's (now Dick's Sporting Goods) and Old Navy opened, with Galyan's becoming the mall's sixth anchor tenant and Old Navy becoming another junior anchor. The mall also offered a Cinemark cinema with 20 screens near its food court. The mall was one of the first developments in the area. After the mall was built, many other restaurants and stores opened around it. Now the area is well developed and a major shopping district for the West Side of Grand Rapids including the Holland Area. Further Changes On April 18, 2018, it was announced that Younkers would be closing its doors because to its parent company, The Bon Ton, was unable to find a buyer and was going out of business. The store closed on August 29, 2018. Current Anchors * Celebration Cinema - Opened as Cinemark in 2000/became Celebration Cinema in 2007. * Dick's Sporting Goods - Opened as Galyan's in 2000/became Dick's Sporting Goods in 2004. * JCPenney - Opened in 1999. * Kohl's - Opened in 1999. * Macy's - Opened as Hudson's in 1999/became Marshall Field's in 2001/renamed Macy's in 2006. * Sears - Opened in 1999/Auto Center closed in 2017. Former Anchors * Cinemark - Became Celebration Cinema in 2007. * Galyan's - Acquired by Dick's Sporting Goods in 2004. * Hudson's - Renamed as Marshall Field's in 2001. * Marshall Field's - Acquired by Macy's in 2006. * Younkers - Closed in 2018 due to The Bon Ton's bankruptcy. Stores and attractions The mall has a total of over 130 stores with about 1,249,697 square feet (116,100.7 m2) of retail space available. Outside are more than 6,000 parking spaces. Food and beverage merchants are located in the mall. There is also a food court with a carousel in the center that is surrounded by 8 quick service restaurants. Near the food court, there is also a 20 screen Celebration Cinema movie theater. The theater serves as one of the mall's anchor tenants and is one of the most popular cinemas in Michigan, consecutively performing as one of the top 3 theaters in the state. The mall's slogan is Mix it up, one of few major slogans that General Growth Properties uses with some of their malls. Gallery Videos File:Rivertown Crossings, Grandville, Michigan a nice mall about to get a sore thumb|Mall Tour File:MontgomeryKone Traction Elevator at RiverTown Crossings in Grandville, MI|The Main Elevator File:Montgomery-KONE Hydraulic Elevator at Sears, Rivertown Crossings Mall|The Sears Elevator File:Schindler MT Hydraulic Elevator at JCPenney, Rivertown Crossings Mall|The JCPenney, Elevator File:Schindler RT Hydraulic Elevator at Macy's at RiverTown Crossings in Grandville, MI|The Macy's Elevator File:Schindler Elevator at Kohl's in the Rivertown Crossings Mall in Grandville, MI|The Kohl's Elevator File:Montgomery Kone Glass Elevator @ Younker's Rivertown Crossings Mall Grandville,MI|The Younkers Elevator File:Kone Hydrualic Elevator @ Dick's Sporting Goods Grandville,MI|The Dick's Sporting Goods Elevator External Links Rivertown Crossings Mall's Official WebsiteCategory:Malls in Michigan Category:Shopping Malls Category:Malls in the United States Category:Multi-Level Malls Category:Malls that opened in 1999 Category:Brookfield Properties Retail Group Malls Category:Former Cinemark-anchored Properties Category:Former Galyan's-anchored Malls Category:JCPenney-anchored Malls Category:Kohl's-anchored Malls Category:Former Marshall Field's-anchored Malls Category:Macy's-anchored Malls Category:Sears-anchored Malls Category:Celebration Cinema-anchored Properties Category:Former Hudson's-anchored Malls